Majors and Minors

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SUNY Oswego, moving to increase already substantial opportunities for student research and creative projects, has established an office to provide support and pique student interest in hands-on, faculty-mentored work.Read more

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Alumni & Supporters

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Seven former standout athletes at SUNY Oswego joined the ranks of 82 other accomplished individuals who have been voted into the college’s Athletic Hall of Fame, forever solidifying themselves in the college’s athletic history. Read more

Research Committees

Human Subjects - Debriefing

Planetarium show: "Exoplanets"

First discovered 20 years ago, the known exoplanets (planets around other stars) now total more than 1,800. Dr. Scott Roby of SUNY Oswego's physics department will show the different types of planetary systems that exist and give updates on the Kepler mission and the search for twins of Earth. Part of Cruisin' Campus Springbreak. Limited seating: first-come, first-served. Free, including parking in the Centennial Drive lot (E17) or Washington Boulevard lot (E8). 312-2790.

Concert by jazz trumpeter Dave Douglas

The trumpeter and composer's interests range from jazz, classical, klezmer and electronica. $15, including parking ($5 for SUNY Oswego students) and is available in the employee lots adjacent to Sheldon Hall and across Washington Boulevard. Pre-concert talk begins at 7 p.m. http://www.oswego.edu/arts. 312-2141.

GOLD Third Thursdays

When a person agrees to participate in a research project you have designed, they are placing their lives in your hands for the duration of their participation. The informed consent form is a contract, which says that the participant agrees to "give data" to you, and in return, you guarantee that the participant will leave your "Laboratory" as the same person he/she was when he/she entered. Specifically, the researcher has the ethical responsibility to preserve the participant's:

physical safety;

privacy: "the right to decide for oneself how much we will share with others our thoughts, feelings, and personal facts: (Sasson & Nelson, 1971, p. 268);

self-concept: the knowledge of one's physical and psychological traits;

comfort: "being at ease physically, mentally and socially and feeling no pain or urgent,

nsatisfied wants" (Sasson & Nelson, 1971, pp. 277-278); and

dignity: the worth, respect, and decency deserving of every human being.

To the extent that any of these is compromised, either intentionally (e.g., through a deceptive experimental "cover story") or accidentally (e.g., viewing a disturbing or offensive video clip), you must DEBRIEF each participant. Debriefing occurs immediately after a participant has finished "giving data," and it should do the following:

state all of the purposes and hypotheses of your project;

reveal any deceptions, explain the purpose of such deceptions, and relieve any embarrassment for having "fallen for it" (e.g., after a study of effects of anxiety on cognitive performance, tell the participant that "the puzzles were designed to be insoluble for everyone");

remedy any incorrect factual information that might have been given during the experiment (e.g., after a questionnaire assessing one's knowledge about AIDS, give the participant the correct information about it);

provide names and phone numbers of professionals who could help the participant discuss sensitive issues brought out during the project (e.g., after a survey of sexual and contraceptive behavior, tell the participant that he/she may "call Dr. Smith, 555-1234, at the campus health clinic, to receive more information about effective birth control methods); and

offer a specific period of time (e.g., one month from the date of participation) during which participants may contact you, to ask questions about the project and to obtain a summary of the results.

This can be done either orally or in writing, but giving participants a written debriefing insures that they will get the information you are obligated to give them. Obviously, your specific study might not require all five of the above elements; when in doubt, ask the Co-Chairs of the Human Subjects Committee (Dr. Friedman, x6381 or Dr. Bozak, x2156), or discuss it with your instructor or faculty sponsor.

Please remember that our research participants - or "human subjects": -- have feelings, opinions, and rights, none of which is forfeited simply as a consequence of their participation.